Final Fantasy VII 1. Chapter 1

Seventh Heaven on Cloud 9.

Cloud had a stern look on his face while he downed yet another drink at Tifa's Seventh Heaven bar. He was thinking furiously about Sephiroth's latest appearence outside of Edge. He had killed twenty people, and he was sure it was only to amass Cloud's attention.

"Tifa, do you think there is any way to stop Sephiroth?" he asked.

"There has to be, but Cloud, however it is, you can't do it alone, Im sure of that..." she replied.

"I have to do this alone, Tifa, I won't let something happened like it did with Aeris. Not to anyone... I have to do this alone..."

Suddenly, the TV started blaring a siren. They both looked to the television as the news caster's face appeared.

***NEW DEVELOPMENT! There have been various readings of an earthquake occurring in the area around Kalm. In addition, there are massive storms off the coast of Costa Del Sol, and something happening near the northern crater that witnesses are calling "a firestorm", that is, a storm made of flames. Until we have more information, we are encouraging people to stay indoors, seal up all windows, and hide in the basement. This is Bob Roberts reporting for channel 243 news.**

Tifa got up and began to close all her windows. Marlene came running in scared, followed by Denzel. Barret came up from the new AVALANCHE hideout (made only for nostalgia, AVALANCHE is defunct), followed by Cid. Cloud just got up and looked out the door, when he sees a tremendous storm cloud right above the city of Edge. He slowly closed the door and sat back down at the bar. He took a sip of his drink.

"Its Sephiroth... Im sure of it..."

"Cloud..." Tifa looked sad.

"Tifa, I told you, I have to do this myself."

"Fine, then if you are going to find him on your own, at least take these."

Tifa hands him a small chest with materia of various colors in it. He took some and pocketed them, as well as a handfull of Gil. He left the bar without another word. Tifa felt the familiar stinging in her eyes as tears began to form. Marlene hugged Tifa's leg.

"Dont worry Tifa, Im sure Cloud will beat that bad man!" Marlene said.

"I know Marlene, He always does... I just miss him so much..."

"I miss him too." Denzel piped up. "But we have to believe in him!"

"He's right, Teef." Barret suddenly said. "That is the only thing we can do for him."

"Yeah... I know... Hey, do you two want to watch some TV? I think "The Adventures of Cait" is on!" Tifa said, trying to distract them from Cloud's absence.

Meanwhile

Cloud walked to his bike and started it up. As he reached for his goggles, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his temple. He slumped over his bike, and began to breath heavily. He saw images of his first fight with Sephiroth, and the destruction of Nibelheim. He shook his head hard, and the visions left. He climbed on his bike and began to drive towards the destruction. As he got closer, he felt a great feeling of dread, of what Sephiroth might be doing.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the site of the explosion. He didnt see Sephiroth anywhere, but he knew he had to be close.

Sephiroth, meanwhile, never did anything. He just sent one of his "brothers" to destroy half the city. His "Brother", experiment 9, was targeting Cloud with a rocket launcher. Cloud turned around the block and noticed the blue dot on his chest. He looked around and noticed the enemy. In reflex, he braked his bike and ejected one of his swords. He tossed it at number 9, and nearly decapitated him, however, 9 was quick to dodge. Just before he was able to re aim his weapon, it suddenly sliced in half. Upon glancing around, he noticed a giant shuriken.

"YUFFIE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Cloud yelled. "I TOLD YOU, THIS IS MY FIGHT! STAY OUT OF IT!"

"Cloud! I just saved your life you should be a little more grateful" she said with a grin. She then knocked Experiment 9 out with a single ninja chop. She jumped over to Cloud and gave him a huge hug. "I havent seen you in sooooo long!"

"Yeah, well, I tend to keep to myself." He replied. "I told you how much I dislike my friends getting involved. This battle is between me and Sephiroth. No one else should be involved."

"But, Cloud..." She was acting stubborn.

"No, this is my fight." He said. "Ugh... Hey, do you need a ride?"

"Sure! Can you take me to the Seventh Heaven? I need to give something to Marlene."

**End: Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud got on, pushed a button, and the seat extended to be able to fit two people. They rode back to the Seventh Heaven. When they went inside, the whole gang was in there. Cid, Red XIII, even Vincent showed up. They were all there to hold an ex-AVALANCHE meeting. A meeting that no one told Cloud about. Understandably, he was kind of annoyed.

"What is going on here?" He yelled.

"Obviously we are having a meetin'" Barret said, piping up after a moment of silence. "A meetin' about how you shouldn't be fightin' Sephiroth on your own."

Tifa stood up. "Its not your fight Cloud, its the Planet's. We are just its allies. You can't be the sole soldier, you'll never win. You need us... we need you... Cloud... everyone needs you, and you always just shut us out... We want to help, you wont let us."

Vincent put his glass down and said "You helped me to feel repentance, Cloud, I want to return the favor. I understand what its like to feel like this, but trust me Cloud, being a loner accomplishes nothing."

Cid snorted, "Yeah, and you wont get anywhere without my airship. Your Fenrir can't cross water, ya stupid lump."

"And Im sure you wont be able to stop Sephiroth with brute strength either." They all turned to the direction of the noise, it was Reeve, followed by the Turks.

"Who invited these dorks?" asked Yuffie.

"No one, we just heard that there was a party here." Reno said.

Rude just nodded, and they all took seats around the table.

"Right, so, Shin-Ra, or whats left of it, has officially stepped down from being the sole source of power in Gaia, we left that to the Water Dynamo Co. Officially, Shin-Ra is now part of AVALANCHE, because we feel the Planet really does need us as a whole to save it. Its ironic, a company that was damaging the Planet the most is now working to help it." Reeve said.

"Wow, and all that from Cait Sith!" Tifa exclaimed in surprise.

"Ah, and we're sorry Rufus couldnt join us today, he had other business to attend to. You know, repairing a city an all." Reno said. Rude nodded in agreement.

"Pfft, he just doesnt want to show his ugly mug around here after what he did to the Planet." Barret said.

It was then that Cloud realized that Marlene and Denzel werent in the barroom.

"Where are the kids?" Cloud asked.

"They are watching reruns of "Mako Rangers: Dino Beasts". We cant have them around this discussion anymore, its starting to affect them..." Tifa said.

After a long and lengthy discussion, Cloud realized that he has no choice but to allow his friends to fight with him. But before they went to find Sephiroth, they decided to stay overnight to rest up before the big battle, as they all came a long way.

"Papa! We're huuuuungry!" Marlene yelled.

"Hold on sweetie, Papa'll get you something to eat in a minute, just let him finish his talk with Cloud." Tifa said.

"Yeah, so thats why I think we should make this battle formation against Sephiroth to ultimately destroy him." Barret said triumphantly.

"I dont think a battle plan matters, we just need to hurt him as much as we can." Cloud replied. "I mean, it worked in the Crater."

"You're probably right. But we do need to divide into teams. That way, we can focus attacks on different parts of the "Reunion"."

"Yeah... the "Reunion"..." Cloud said with a slight quiver in his voice. "Last time the Reunion happened... I screwed up bigtime, and I nearly killed Aeris and... Tifa."

"You ok, Cloud?" Barret asked, concerned.

"Yeah, Im fine, just a little worried. Thats the main reason why I want to do this alone, so I dont have the chance of accidentally killing anyone other than Sephiroth himself." Cloud sighed. "Barret, promise me... if I ever "turn" again, stop me... by any costs..."

"But wont that mean that I might have to...?"

"Yes, you might have to lethally take me down..."

"... I promise"

"Thanks... don't you have kids you gotta feed?"

"&%$, You're right! MARLENE! DENZEL! COME ON! LETS GO TO EXTRA BURGER!"

Cloud watched him go up the pinball elevator, he sat in silence contemplating the battle that lay ahead of them. Then, the elevator started to come back down. Tifa was on board.

"Cloud... I heard..."

"Tifa, don't worry about me, its all for the sake of the Planet."

"Cloud, if you get "Turned" I swear, I will not stop until you are safe and sane again. I wont ever let you die. No, I cant let you die. You swore to come to my rescue, so I swear to come to yours!"

"Tifa...I... Thank you... I just hope Sephiroth doesnt have that control over me anymore, he doesnt seem to be able to since I realized who I truly am, but you can never be too sure."

"I hope not. Well, we better get some rest before the big battle tommorow. Would you like to sleep on my couch? Its got a heater built in!"

"I'd like that Teef, thanks." he said, smiling a bit. "Wait, before we go upstairs, how about one, for old time's sake."

Tifa sighed, "Ok, Cloud." She brought out a special drink, "Midori Juice". She makes it fresh, and has made it since they were kids(1).

A few minutes later, they both went upstairs, to find the entire building empty, save for one mechanical moogle.

"The couch is in here, Ill get you blankets and stuff, hang on." and she left the room.

**END: CHAPTER 2**

**(1): Dont worry, its non alcoholic.**


End file.

Final Fantasy VII, Drama, Friendship